146 ELEPHANT-HUNTING IN EAST AFRICA chap. 



miles, through dense scrub without any water : a tiresome 

 and most uninteresting tramp. We started about i P.M. and 

 bivouacked for the night at sundown. In the morning we 

 started on again with the first streaks of dawn, about five 

 o'clock, which was as early as it was possible to proceed, there 

 being no moon ; for though the path here is, during the dry 

 season when the river is low, well worn, it was now a good 

 deal overgrown and consequently impracticable in the dark. 

 I went ahead, leaving the caravan to follow at its own pace 

 to the river. On the way I came upon signs showing that 

 a herd of elephants had been about : the trees were broken 

 down in many places, and sometimes the path was obstructed 

 by branches they had thrown down ; I noticed, too, that 

 these evidences were of various ages, some quite recent, others 

 older. 



When getting towards the river, my little dog " PVolic " 

 chased a troop of baboons in her usual playful way — as I 

 could tell by their cries, though the bush was too thick for 

 me to see — and I heard her give a yelp. She then came 

 running back to me, and I found she had been severely bitten 

 in the neck, at which I felt much indignation. But, though 

 my poor little favourite seemed dejected, I thought the wounds 

 were only skin deep, at first. 



I got to the river by ten o'clock, and, turning off to the 

 right through some little open flats bordering the banks, was 

 making for a nice spot I knew of a little farther down, where 

 was a shady tree to camp under, when I met a wart-hog sow 

 with a nearly grown-up family, and had just time to give 

 her a shot as she was starting to make off, knocking her over. 

 One of the young ones came back towards me, quite close up ; 

 but I let them alone, as I had more than enough meat for my 

 own larder in the one I had shot, and, as my men would not 

 eat pig, I had no use for more. 



The Tana is at this point divided by several islands (one 

 or two of them of some extent) into a number of channels. 



